"Steven N’Zonzi...is keen for a return to England [and] Liverpool are keeping tabs on the situation. Leicester have already failed in an £18m bid [as] Seville insist N’Zonzi’s buy-out clause at £21m".

Liverpool may interested, but it's doubtful that N'Zonzi will swap swap Sevilla - who are in the Champions league next season - for the Reds, who don't have European football.

N'Zonzi definitely wants Champions League football, and he confirmed this after signing for Sevilla:

"Now I need to test myself in the Champions League and unfortunately I can't do that with Stoke".

The Mirror also adds:

"N'Zonzi wants Champions League football, which he can get at Sevilla...but a switch to Leicester [who are in the CL] is more attractive for the 27 year-old".

Reds legend Jamie Carragher certainly rates N'Zonzi, and after the Frenchman signed for Sevilla last summer, Carra enthused:

"N’Zonzi was like Patrick Vieira last season. I was surprised he was allowed to go to Seville and nobody in the Premier League took him.”

N'Zonzi - hailed by Stoke Chief Tony Scholes as a 'magnificent' player - arguably fits the profile of the kind of combative defensive-midfielder Liverpool desperately need, but the club has been kneecapped by Jurgen Klopp's failure to qualify for Europe, which raises the difficulty level associated with signing top players.

This is the harsh reality Liverpool have to face, and right now, even with Klopp at the helm, Leicester City will probably prevail in a head-to-head transfer battle, and that's a sign of how far the Reds have fallen over the last two seasons.

Ultimately, you know you've hit rock bottom when an ex-Stoke player sees Leicester City [who are in the Champions League] as a more attractive transfer destination than Liverpool.